The State Budget Act became clear on Monday, despite the fact that we requested a discussion of the budget parameters with the Minister of Finance two months ago. The first talks that began on the three budgets took place in the Social Security Relations Committee. The missed deadlines and the lack of communication are evident. We are expected, within a matter of hours, to express a position on documents that are about 500 pages each. This was stated by Stanislav Popdonchev, Vice President of the BIA, on the “Business Start” programme on Bloomberg TV Bulgaria with host Hristo Nikolov.
Regarding the changes in the tax and social security burden, we had been assured that there would be no changes in 2026 and this was only seven months ago. We were surprised to learn that the dividend tax is being doubled, and that this is expected to bring an additional 340 million leva in revenue. This is an unrealistic forecast.
Weakness of the budget
One of the few factors that make Bulgaria attractive for investment is precisely its stable tax system. Increasing insurance contributions by two percentage points is practically a 10% rise just a month before the start of the new tax year. According to Popdonchev, it is unclear what the motives behind this decision are.
The promise was that the maximum insurance threshold would be around 4,300 leva, yet it is now being raised by 300 leva. Businesses are unable to make any forecasts, since predictions do not remain valid even for a few months. “The biggest surprise was the return of SUSMP (the unified sales management software). This caused enormous discontent,” Popdonchev noted.
Risks of the return of the SUSMP
He added that the return of SUSMP will affect all traders who use sales management software. Those who use only a cash register will not be affected. The policy is presented as a measure to combat the grey economy, but it is unclear how it would achieve this.
"The risk for the trader is huge. If at some point the National Revenue Agency decides that a given software does not meet the requirements, traders must replace it immediately. This cannot be done instantly and is expensive," the guest explained.
The Bulgarian Industrial Association will not support Budget 2026, as it contains no measures in support of business. The budget also contains nothing related to encouraging investment and innovation.
"Everything else is simply extraction from businesses and working citizens to finance public systems," Popdonchev stated firmly.
"I am not sure to what extent even the Ministry of Finance likes the budget it presented. Today, at the meeting of the Tripartite Council, we will see whether some of the measures may be removed," the guest added.
